I’m a healthcare PR pro and an adventure junkie whose work and travels have taken me to fascinating and challenging environments - from three months on the Appalachian Trail to clinical trial sites in rural South Sudan to riding the ore train through Mauritania and researching HIV transmission in Central American border communities. Currently, I work at Alexion Pharmaceuticals leading our product communications and telling the story of scientific advancement and patient care in rare and ultra-rare diseases.

Why am I doing this?

I've always been passionate about healthcare innovation - however that passion took on a new meaning in 2017, when the quest for more research into cancer and rare diseases touched my family. Only a few months after giving birth to my nephew, my sister was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer that had already spread to her lymph nodes. With no family history, no traditional risk factors and no obvious best course of treatment, our family was thrown into the whirlwind search for answers and options.

While the amazing team at Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, NC saved my sister's life through chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, the geneticists at the NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center diagnosed the rare familial cancer syndrome that had led to her disease. Their combined work has enabled me and our other family members to be screened and diagnosed - and receive both treatment for benign neoplasms and lifelong monitoring for early detection of malignancies. This climb is my chance to show my gratitude and "pay forward" the incredible scientific advancements that have given me and my family peace of mind, even if they haven't (yet) delivered a cure.

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